A day at the Seaside!

Last Thursday, Jo, Kane and I went to Brighton pier. We haven't been there for a while, so we grabbed some coats, jumped in the car and off we went.
  We parked along Madeira Drive, amongst it's fine arches, and walked along the pavement near to the beach towards the pier.

Brighton is a stunning city, but the most stunning of all is the history, and old buildings that lie mostly unseen from the main routes in Brighton. As seasides go, you really can't get better than Brighton!

Brighton's first pier - a chain pier was built in 1823, replaced by a grander pier in 1899, and by 1911 the concert hall had become an attraction in itself. In 1984 the pier was refurbished, and stands as the pier we see today.

                          

Brighton also boasts the worlds oldest railway - the Volk's Railway opened in 1883! The railway even drove through the sea on a large stilted electric train!

             
              

We walked around the outside of the pier, taking in the fresh (read freezing!) air, before having a look inside one of the arcade buildings. Kane soon discovered a machine called 'Spider Stompin' which gave out lots of tickets that you can buy prizes with. He went on a couple of times and by the end of the day, he had 27 tickets! Enough to get a little polystyrene plane! (only 18,600 tickets for a Nintendo DS!!!)

                           

Next we went on an 'Air hocky' game, which Kane and I love playing.

He came up the victor in that, and then we started getting peckish, so we went outside and started walking to find somewhere to eat.

Before we left the pier, I thought I'd try to get a photo of the amazing cloud formation over the coast and Brighton - it ended up being 3 that I turned into a panorama.

When we came off the pier, Jo pointed out a Harry Ramsden's so we went inside, and while Jo enjoyed a Cod, chips and mushy peas, Kane and I enjoyed a plateful of sausage and chips!

What a GREAT day out!

Visit to the seaside.

The other day, very soon after receiving my new lens, Jo and I decided to take a visit to a nearby coastal town.

We dined at the most magnificent MacDonalds, and then took a stroll around, over a bridge and back again to our car.

Every time I drive into this town I always love the boat that greets you as you enter - and since I've had my camera, I always say - every time - I really MUST take a few shots of it!

Well today was perfect, so I thought I'd show you what it looks like.



What I love about this old boat is the ropes. You can see over the years where new ropes have been added and tied together, and the wonderful colour of the rust just adds to the whole feeling of a boat that's been loved for a long time.




This next shot is one of my favourites, if not my favourite shot. I wanted to capture the vivid blue of the old tarpaulins, and the ropes hanging, what with the rust in the foreground, it makes for a great view!



It started to turn really cold - especially with the wind chill, so we decided to make our way back to the car. Walking across the bridge, we noticed the timber moorings and decked area across the other side;



..one thing I said I wanted to do with my new lens, was to catch a bird in flight - this one is an ordinary Seagull, but I was amazed at how good the zoom was on my 55-200mm lens, after I had a closer look at this shot!



All in all it was a great afternoon, I really enjoyed myself - and Jo did too - albeit a little on the chilly side!

;)